This invention relates generally to farm equipment, and has particularly reference to a novel mixing and feeding machine that is particularly adapted for the in-barn feeding of diary cattle.
Heretofore, a number of different machines have been developed to permit mechanized cattle feeding. Some of these machines are feeders only, meaning that their function is to deliver measured amounts of premixed feed to designated feeding stations. Other machines are both mixers and feeders, meaning that they operate to mix the ingredients of a feed mixture as well as to dispense it. The feeder and mixer-feeder machines are mobile. There are also stationary machines whose only function is to mix different kinds of feeds.
Except for very large machines, most of the feeders and mixer-feeders on the market do not have any provision for the operator to ride on the machine. An exception to this is a feeding machine produced by the assignee of the present invention. The machine referred to has a removable platform upon which the operator can stand or sit while operating the machine.
In many feeder and mixer-feeder machines of the prior art there have been problems in connection with obtaining a smooth and continuous flow of the feed to the discharge opening of the machine. Thus, the feed or feed mix may be dry in part and moist and sticky in part, and such a condition can cause the feed to compact in various areas of the mixing chamber of the machine. This condition can also cause the feed to "bridge over" adjacent the machine discharge with the result that the flow of the feed is erratic or stops altogether.